Researchers at Mass General Brigham have made a breakthrough discovery suggesting that psychedelic compounds may influence how the immune system communicates with the brain. This finding offers a potential new path for treating mental health disorders like anxiety and depression, by targeting the immune system’s role in psychiatric illness.
Previous research has shown that chronic stress and fear can lead to inflammation and harmful immune signaling, which may contribute to the development of mental health disorders. In their new study, published in the journal Nature, the Mass General Brigham team investigated how psychedelics such as MDMA and psilocybin interact with the brain's immune responses.
Using mouse models, the researchers found that these substances altered how brain cells responded to immune activity. Notably, the psychedelics appeared to “reprogram” immune tissues in a way that could reduce inflammation and potentially reverse some of the changes associated with psychiatric conditions. These findings were further supported by experiments in human cell models.
"We think that just an acute dose of psychedelics recalibrates tissue plasticity that can be disrupted by stress or even potentially mood disorders," said Dr. Michael Wheeler, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “And so that's what we're pretty excited about.”
Wheeler emphasized that more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind these effects. His team is now working with the Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics at Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct clinical trials involving patients with depression who are being treated with psychedelics.
While psychedelics are not being described as a cure-all, the researchers believe their ability to enhance brain plasticity and modulate immune-related inflammation could offer a powerful new tool in mental health treatment.
"The fact that they unlock such potent brain plasticity, alongside modifying these peripheral inflammatory components that we know also tune behavior, we think they may have many different benefits," Wheeler said.
This study represents a growing interest in exploring how the immune system and brain interact—and how psychedelics may help bridge that connection to treat mental disorders.
